Thought you’d enjoy a snippet of something else that’s coming sometime in the near future from Ellora’s Cave. This is unedited, so be kind about the typos!

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Jane Emerson parted the blinds to sneak a peek into the yard next door. The lawn mower had finally fallen silent, which meant Bruno Martir had finished with that chore. Soon, he’d be moving along the fence as he turned to the next job.

She’d gotten accustomed to his afternoon habits. Knew he preferred yard work while Cord washed cars in the drive. Cord hadn’t finished working on his SUV, so there was still plenty of time to put her plan into action.

Her gaze slid covetously over Bruno’s lean body. His T-shirt had long ago been stripped away. Grass shavings clung to his broad shoulders and ripped abdomen. Sweat darkened the brown hairs that lightly furred his chest and thick thighs.

She licked her lips, already tasting the salt of his sweat and cum. This was it. One last shot at putting the topping on her vacation. Through with playing coy and dropping increasingly un-subtle hints, she was going for broke. If he didn’t take the bait this time, she’d have to assume she didn’t have the equipment to attract a stud like the fireman next door. Maybe his roommate Cord was more than just his best buddy, which would be a crying damn shame—at least for Jane’s plans.

Grabbing up her boom box and sunscreen, she tightened the belt on her robe and headed down the stairs, not even trying to stem the flow of excitement dampening her short curls. She’d promised herself an elicit adventure. Something to wear like a badge of courage when she finally returned home. She might have been dumped for a fitness instructor, but she was still attractive, still sexy. To prove it to herself today, she’d be shameless.

Bursting through the glass sliding door, she blinked at the bright sunshine and slid her shades over her eyes. There might be fall-like weather in her Chicago home at the moment, but South Florida still held bragging rights for lingering summer weather—one of the reasons she’d agreed to housesit while her college friend enjoyed a pre-wedding getaway with her fiancé. Jane was still on the fence about staying longer to wait for the wedding that promised to be every bit as romantic as Sarah deserved, not sure if she could bear witnessing her friend’s happiness when her own had proved so elusive.

Sarah had worked damn hard to snag her sexy policeman. She’d determined his beat, run red lights, “lost” distributor caps and parts of her swimming suits to get his attention—racking up a record for the number of court appearances a girl could have without landing in jail, and earning herself quite a rep with the department who had her game plan totally figured out.

It was a good thing Fernando had a sense of humor or Sarah might have garnered stalking charges as well.

But all’s well that ends well, and now Jane was ready to take a page out of Sarah’s book. Not that she was looking for “happy ever after”. She’d settle for some down and dirty sex—the raw and nasty kind she hadn’t had in forever. And Bruno’s lush lips and fierce, narrowed gaze hinted he knew a thing or two about “dirty”.

She strolled toward the lounge chair set in the center of the back yard, her heart thumping. The sound of Bruno starting up the weed-eater on the other side of the fence assured her he’d be edging close to the large knothole.

Soon, he’d have to take a break, fill up on more fuel or stop for a drink to replace all the lovely sweat he wore like slick massage oil on his tanned skin, and then he’d call a greeting across the fence. When she didn’t immediately respond, being the instinctively protective kind of guy he was, he wouldn’t be able to resist a peek through the knothole to make sure she was all right.

She adjusted the lounger, angling it so that his quick peek would be of her entire body from a flattering sideways view. Then pulling in a deep breath and saying a quick prayer for courage, she turned on the music and dropped her robe.

Her body already gleamed from a lavish application of coconut-scented body oil. Her tan was completely even, not a strap mark in sight. She tweaked her nipples for a little extra rosy color, and then lay down on the lounger.

Now, all she had to do was wait. She’d baited a foolproof trap.

* * *

Cord Lassiter slipped the latch on the privacy fence, following the sound of sexy R&B. Sarah had asked him to take a look at the jack for her telephone connection to see if he could figure out whether the hum on her line was her problem or the phone company’s. Since she’d be back on Monday, he wanted to surprise her with the job completed. Sarah was good people.

He’d hoped to get to the job when the house sitter left for the day, but it didn’t look like that was gonna happen anytime soon, so he shored up his courage and shoved through the gate.

Jane hadn’t exactly taken a shine to him. Probably still held a grudge against him for dumping her panties on the driveway the day she arrived. But that fiasco hadn’t been entirely his fault.

He’d kept an eye out for Jane’s arrival as a favor to Sarah. Before she’d even opened the cab door, he’s headed to the trunk to gather her cases. He’d reached for one, and then looked up as a set of long, delicious legs slid from the back of the taxi.

His jaw had dropped along with the case, and then he’d scrambled to pick up the microscopic bits of satin and silk as they’d begun to tumble across the lawn in the stiff sea breeze.

Bruno had shaken his head, giving him a look full of suppressed laughter, and then schooled his features into an appalled, consoling mask that completely bowled the beautiful woman over as his best buddy held out his hand to help her from the back seat.

Ever since then, she’d had her nose in the air whenever Cord was around, but a sultry smile for Bruno. Too bad she didn’t know that Bruno would never be interested in her—unless she was the sharing sort.

And Janie Emerson seemed way too self-absorbed to ever spread the lovin’ around. It was a damn good thing she was leaving soon. Ever since she’d come, he’d worn a hard-on no amount of pocket hockey could relieve.

As he rounded the corner of the house, his steps faltered. His gaze caught the glint of the top of her burnished brown hair, and then slid over the supple, nude body that had his cock tenting fast against the front of his jeans.

Holy shit! He’d underestimated just how damn beautiful she’d be. He almost wished he hadn’t seen because now he knew his dreams would be ripe with fantasies he hadn’t a hope in hell of fulfilling.

Still, a self-mocking grin tugged at his lips as he eyed her lovely rosy nipples, the shine of her oiled skin and the red glint of the short, springy curls cloaking her pussy. The long supple legs drew him last, reminding him of his fantasy of having them wrapped tight around his waist as he hammered inside her.

A molten wave of heat washed over him, and he clenched his hands at his sides. Jane could have been made for him. His ideal of perfection. Even the rounded curve of her belly, her full hips appealed. So much womanly softness to hold.

But what the hell could he do about it? If Bruno did look through the knothole in the fence, he’d be chortling and wondering if Cord had the gonads to do more than slink away.

After another long sip of her lovely, mouth-watering body, Cord cleared his throat.

Jane’s head jerked back, her eyes widening beneath the rims of her sunglasses when she spotted him. She shot up from the chair and bent to reach for the robe lying on the grass beside her.

As if in slow-motion, the lounge chair tilted and fell to the side, dumping her on her knees in the grass.

Cord hurried over to her, trying his best to keep the smile off his face and his gaze off her delectable ass. He knelt beside her, reaching for her arms to help her up, but her slippery skin slid beneath his grip. She fell forward, her breasts landing in his palms.